A/N:
Weird chapter title, I know. I'm listening to Brave by Idina Menzel
and that's one of my favorite lines so just bear with me haha. I love
you, my beta, OkGoPrettyMuchRules!

Lorelai
didn't want him to tell Rachel about their engagement.

Is
she ashamed of it?

Luke
walked back to the gazebo in a blind panic. She can't be ashamed of
it. She just...just can't!

When
he reached the gazebo and found not a soul there, he checked the
diner and the apartment upstairs before going to Lorelai's place.

Upon
reaching the door, Luke paused and put the ring in his jean pocket.
Couldn't let Rachel see it until he was absolutely
sure Lorelai wasn't
ashamed. That would be, well, a bit awkward.

"Lorelai?"
Luke called as he poked his head through the door. "Lorelai, are
you here?"

"In
the living room!" Lorelai yelled in reply. "Hey, sweetie!"
Lorelai greeted as Luke walked in. "I believe you have something
for me?"

"How-how...how?"
Luke stammered. How the hell could she know he got her ring?! And
he'd rather not do it in front of Rachel.

"Because
of one, you were gone for far longer than necessary for delivering
food and two, either you have a box in that pocket or you're just
extremely happy to see me." Lorelai smirked. Damn, did he have
to fall in love with a crazy woman?

"Fine,
but does she know?"

"Duh,
Luke. I wouldn't be sitting her telling you to give me my damn ring
if she didn't," she laughed. Even Rachel let slip a wide smile.
They were both enjoying torturing Luke. Stupid women.

Sighing,
Luke pulled out the box and started to hand it to Lorelai before he
suddenly changed his mind. Instead, he changed course and handed it
to Rachel, who could not have been more shocked.

DAMN!
WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST DO?! NOW THEY'RE GOING TO THINK I'M
PROPOSING TO RACHEL! Luke continued mentally slapping himself while
he watched Lorelai.

What
the hell? Rachel took the box, wondering why Luke gave it to her. He
couldn't go back to her. HE'S ENGAGED.

8D

Okay,
Luke, time to recover. "Open it," he suggested. Rachel
complied. "What do you think?" He could almost feel the
tension leave the room as both girls relaxed.

"I
approve...a lot,"
Rachel replied as her eyes bugged out. "Geez,
Luke, how much did you pay for that rock?"

"Rock?"
Lorelai perked up. "Lemme see! Lemme see!" She started
whining and bouncing on the couch in her eagerness. "Lemme see,
damn it! It's my ring!" Rachel looked to Luke for permission
before conceding the ring to Lorelai. "AH!!!! It's gorgeous!
Oh, my God, Luke!" She hopped up on the couch to give him a big
smooch. "You're awesome, Luke."

"Yeah,
yeah...so what have you guys been doing?" Luke asked, relieved
she hadn't freaked out and elated she wasn't ashamed of their
relationship.

"What
do I do best?" Lorelai fixed him with that stare, the
do-you-even-KNOW-me stare.

"Talk?"
he replied, unsure. There were too many things she was good at.

"Gossip!"
Lorelai exclaimed at the same time Rachel went "Duh!" What
was it about insane women that attracted him so much?

8D

Lorelai
smiled to herself as she admired the masterpiece on her left ring
finger. Granted, it was dark so she couldn't really see it, but it
was just so damn pretty!
No. Pretty isn't enough. It was drop-dead
supercalifragalisticexpialadocius!

"Why
do you keep staring at it? It's not as though it's the first time
I've gotten you a ring," Luke groaned, stroking her arm. "It's
three in the morning. Time to sleep," he declared through a
yawn.

"Haha,
calm down. I'm not thinking about letting go." Lorelai grinned
up at him and resumed her place on his chest. She was twirling her
fingers in his chest hair. God, she missed doing that, among other
things.

"So,
was that some sort of right of passage?" Luke asked, his low,
growling voice sending shivers down her spine.

"What
do you mean?"

"The
whole torturing me about whether or not you were ashamed about the
engagement and giving you the ring in front of Rachel!"
he replied, wondering how she couldn't know what he meant.

"Haha,
you could say that," she laughed. "Honestly, I just wanted
to tell her the entire story before springing the whole 'we're
engaged' thing on her. But it was fun torturing you!" she added,
giggling.

Not
for the first time--not even for the twentieth time--Luke asked
himself, "Why the hell am I in love with a crazy person?"

"You're
too hot not to be," Lorelai stated as if it was a fact. "You
make every girl salivate every time you walk by, even with the
flannel on. When I saw you swimming at the lake that first time, I
almost stripped and got in with you."

"I
wish you did," he admitted. "Maybe then we'd be married by
now."

"Anyway,
you make it very hard for a girl not to haver her way with you every
second of the day."

"I
think I'd like it if you didn't hold back, but just you," he
laughed.

"Good,
because if you let another woman so much as look at you, I'll skin
you both alive."

"You
sure?"

"Okay,
just her. I'll make you feel really sorry and then we'd have angry
makeup sex. I wouldn't want to mar your perfect body," Lorelai
declared.

"Perfect
body, huh?"

"You're
like an incredibly sexy Greek God."

Greek
God.

Cool.

Luke
went to sleep smiling with Lorelai in his arms for the first time in
a year. And it felt good.

A/N:
It just struck me that I could end it right here. It's like a nice
close to it, but I don't know if I've had enough drama. It'd be
really short if I did end it here. Please review and tell me whether
or not I should keep it going!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.